Heel
by Skovko
Summary: Nothing could have prepared Roman for this moment. From the moment everything went wrong inside the ring to this moment three months later, it has all been pain and misery.


Nothing could have prepared Roman for this moment. In all reality, nothing could have prepared him for any of it. For what happened three months ago. For what had brought so much misery into his life and so much pain into hers. For what had led them to this very moment.

**THREE MONTHS AND ONE DAY EARLIER**

Roman had to brawl his way down to the ring. Triple H and Randy Orton were on him right away. As soon as he thought he was in the clear, a spear from Big Show came out of nowhere. Taken down by his own damn move that hurt like a motherfucker when it was delivered by a giant.

Still what happened to him on the ramp was nothing compared to what was happening to Jessie inside the ring.

Stephanie had rounded up almost every female talent on the roster and had them beat down Jessie. It was always easy to dangle a carrot in front of any wrestler that was still waiting for a shot. In this case it had been promised that everyone helping Stephanie would be in a multi woman match at Wrestlemania for the women's title.

Of course they all helped Stephanie. The taste of gold was on everyone's tongue.

Jessie had fought back the best she could but she was no match to a horde of angry women. She was beaten down brutally. Roman had tried to get down there. He knew he would end up with a lot of bruises too but it didn't matter. Only Jessie mattered. The hazel eyed beauty with the light brown hair. His girlfriend. The love of his life.

"Get her up!" Stephanie demanded.

Roman was yanked up by his arms by Triple H and Randy.

"Watch this, boy," Triple H chuckled.

And he did. Roman watched as Paige and Charlotte yanked Jessie up by her arms the same way Triple H and Randy had done to him. Stephanie stood behind Jessie with a smug smile on her face. She lifted her foot and planted it into Jessie's back.

Roman had expected a scream. A sound of pain. Anything to match the wide eyes on Jessie's face. Nothing came out of her mouth. She fell forward and he could see Stephanie's heel still planted in her back. Stephanie bent down to pull her heel back out of Jessie's back.

Roman didn't know where he got the strength from but he yanked himself free from Triple H and Randy. He stormed down to the ring where all the women cleared out in a surprising speed. They were all scared of the angry Samoan. He dropped to his knees next to Jessie, scared to even touch her.

"Baby girl?" He asked.  
"Don't touch her, Roman," someone said.

It was one of the doctors. It made sense. There was a hole in her back from where Stephanie's heel had gone in. Roman didn't like seeing that hole practically on top of her spine with blood oozing out of it.

"Is she okay?" He asked.  
"I don't know yet," the doctor said.

**THREE MONTHS EARLIER**

It turned out she wasn't okay. She had been loaded into an ambulance and driven to the hospital where she had gone straight into surgery. It was the early morning hours when a doctor came into her room. Roman hadn't left her side since she came out of surgery. She was awake but she had barely spoken two words to him.

"Hello, my name is Ethan and I'm your doctor," the doctor said.  
"Hello," Roman said.  
"How are you feeling, Jessie?" Ethan asked.  
"Just tell me the truth," Jessie said.

A full sentence. Roman hadn't gotten a full sentence out of her since she woke up. He understood. She was in pain, she was scared, and without a doubt she was already planning her revenge. She would probably do something crazy like demanding a street fight against Stephanie at Wrestlemania. It would be a Jessie thing to do. She didn't care about titles. She cared about respect and even the score.

"You're gonna need some rehabilitation. The heel damaged your spine," Ethan said.  
"How bad?" Roman asked.  
"Will I be able to walk again?" Jessie asked.  
"Maybe," Ethan answered. "There's a 60% chance of it but I can't make any promises. We got the best crew here to help you, and as long as you're willing to put some hard work into it too, we won't give up on you."  
"Thank you for your honesty. Please, leave now," Jessie said.  
"Jessie!" Roman looked at her.  
"You too, Roman," she said.

He stared at her with an open mouth. The doctor quickly went out of the room to give them some privacy.

"You're gonna get through this," Roman said.  
"I don't give a shit what you think. I want you to leave," she said.  
"You don't mean that," he said.  
"Get the fuck out!" She yelled. "We're done! I'm breaking up with you! Get out of here and stay the fuck out of my life!"

He didn't leave at first. He tried talking to her and touching her but she kept screaming and causing a scene until security came running to see what the hell was going on. She kept screaming for Roman to leave. That she was done with him and never wanted to see him again.

So he left. He walked out of the room without her and without his heart.

**ONE WEEK EARLIER**

"You're doing great," the physiotherapist Sara said.  
"Thanks to you," Jessie said.  
"No, I just tell you what to do. You're doing all the hard work," Sara said.

Jessie gave Sara a week smile. She had been working hard for two months and three weeks. She knew Sara was right but victory didn't taste as good as it was supposed to.

"Remember the first day you came in here?" Sara asked. "You came in with this whole I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude."  
"Because I didn't," Jessie said.  
"No, because you were scared but you didn't want anyone to know. You were scared you'd never walk again," Sara said.  
"Whatever," Jessie shrugged. "I'll never wrestle again."  
"I know it sucks but there's other things to do in life," Sara said.  
"Like what?" Jessie asked.

Sara moved closer and gently patted Jessie's knee.

"Maybe you should call that guy of yours. Roman, right?" Sara said.  
"He's not my guy. We broke up months ago," Jessie said.  
"He calls each week and asks about you," Sara said.  
"He does?" Jessie asked.  
"I don't tell him anything, of course. Patients confidentiality," Sara said.

Sara stood up and threw her plastic cup in the trash can. They always ended a section by sharing a cup of coffee.

"Just think about it," Sara smiled at Jessie.

**PRESENT DAY**

Nothing could have prepared Roman for this moment. Jessie had called and asked if he would come visit her at the facility where she had been several days a week to rehabilitate since that day. He called there every week, hoping one day that Sara woman would give in and tell him something. Anything at all.

She never did. Of course she didn't. He was a fool but he couldn't help himself. He just wanted to know how Jessie was doing. To his surprise Jessie had called him out of the blue and asked him to come meet her there next day. He had agreed right away. She had told him to be there at 12.30 PM and which room to go to. That's where he was now, looking at her surprised.

She was standing up. No one helped her. Nothing to support her. She was standing on her own two feet.

"Hi, Roman," she said.  
"Jessie," he smiled widely.

She started walking towards him. There was a limp in her steps and he took a step forward. He wanted to go to her and help her. She held up her hand to stop him. Clearly she wanted to show him that she could walk on her own.

"I got this. It might take me a bit longer than you remember but I'll get there," she said.

There was a light tone in her voice. Some sort of joking matter that tried to disguise all the pain and heartbreak that had been brought upon the both of them. He stood still while she made her way over to him. Once she was there, he gently took her in his arms, almost scared of hugging her.

"I won't break," she said.

With those words, he tightened his arms around her and held her in an almost bone crushing hug. He cried silently down in her hair, taking in that sweet melon scent he had missed for so long. She still used the same shampoo.

"It's okay," she whispered.

As silent as he had cried, it hadn't been silent enough. Of course she knew. It didn't matter. He wasn't ashamed. He let his arms become more loose so he could lean out just enough to look at her face. She was crying too.

"I'm sorry," she said.  
"It's okay. I'm here," he said.  
"I didn't mean to chase you away from me," she said.  
"I know. That's why I never moved on. I knew one day you'd need me again," he said.

He kissed her forehead, moving his lips down her nose, pecking the tip of it, finding her lips in a soft kiss. Just a short, soft kiss. Lips against lips. Nothing else. But it was enough for her to let out a sob. She looked relieved in that moment. All that guilt she had lived with for three months he had taken away by one simple kiss.

"I'm here," he repeated. "I'm here, baby girl."


End file.
